Fourth of July Traditions
by WorldOfTilt
Summary: A fluffy little brittana one shot set on the 4th of July.


"Britt, honey. Hurry up. Mrs. Lopez will be here any second to pick you up," Mrs. Pierce craned her neck toward the stairs from the worn couch. The once cold iced tea she'd poured when she called Brittany the first time was now room temperature.

"I'm coming Ma! I just can't find my shirt..." Brittany trailed off, a loud thud, followed by an even louder hiss, coming from her bedroom. "I'm fine! That was just Lord T falling off my dresser." Brittany preemptively yelled downstairs.

Mrs. Pierce sighed and once again craned her neck back, "Honey, just pick a shirt. It's 100 degrees outside and it won't matter what you're wearing." Mrs. Pierce thought for a moment, a small smile playing on her lips, "Britt, I promise Santana will love whatever you wear." After a few seconds she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"I know she will, but I wanted to wear her favorite shirt but I can't find it," a small voice said from behind the couch. "And its red, which would be perfect for today since I am wearing jean shorts and my sneakers are white!" Brittany explained, gracefully flipping over the back of the couch, landing next to her mother.

"Don't worry, Santana won't care as long as you're there," Mrs. Pierce leaned over to give her daughter's forehead a soft kiss just as the doorbell rang. Brittany jumped up, "I'll get it!"

Santana was standing outside in jean shorts, white sneakers, and a red shirt. As soon as Brittany opened the door, she launched herself into her best friends arms. "Hiya San!" Brittany beamed, causing Santana to laugh despite her general crankiness at the heat.

"Hi Britt. Are you ready? Do you need anything else?" Santana asked, leaning over and sending a wave in the general direction of Mrs. Pierce.

"Hi Santana, tell your mother thank you for taking Brittany tonight. I'll call her in the morning," Mrs. Pierce said while walking to do the door.

"Bye Mom! Bye Mrs. Pierce!" Came in unison as the two girls bounded off the front porch to a waiting Mrs. Lopez.

"Hi Mrs. Lopez! My mom says thank you and she'll call tomorrow," Brittany repeated dutifully while climbing in the front seat. Even since Brittany got car sick that one time in the first grade, Santana has made her sit up front every time. She didn't care if it was her family car or not, she would sit in the trunk if it meant Brittany wouldn't get sick. Santana leaned over the front console to make sure Brittany's seat belt was securely fastened, causing Mrs. Lopez to stifle a laugh and shake her head, while pulling away.

"Ok, girls next on the list is Quinn's house," Mrs. Lopez stated. "So Brittany, how is that cat of yours doing?" Mrs. Lopez asked mostly to annoy Santana, who hated that thing.

"Oh Lord Tubbington is great! He had a little fall this morning, but he's fine. I made sure to leave an extra cigar for him tonight since I won't be home till morning," Brittany explained causing Mrs. Lopez to pat Brittany's knee sympathetically, while pulling into the Fabray driveway.

"Ok San, go ring the bell please," Mrs. Lopez instructed. Santana huffed, taking her time undoing her seatbelt. She managed to procrastinate long enough that Quinn appeared in the doorway with her mother. Mrs. Fabray waved to the car, her other hand busy holding a cocktail. Quinn and another body slowly walked down the driveway.

"Who is that with Quinn?," Santana asked skeptically.

"Maybe her sister?," Brittany answered helpfully.

"Britt, Quinn's sister is older and blonde and doesn't live at home anymore. That is small and has brown hair. She looks like a mouse. What is on her shirt?" Santana squinted out the window.

Quinn opened the door, crawling into the middle seat in the back followed by the new girl. "Hi Mrs. Lopez, Hi B, Hi S. This is...um this is Rachel. She just moved in next door and I invited her to come along. Her parents said it was ok, she even..." Quinn was interrupted.

"Good evening Mrs. Lopez. Brittany, Santana. My name is Rachel Barbara Berry. I just completed the 6th grade and will be starting 7th grade at William McKinley Junior High School in the Fall. I have a signed letter from my fathers stating that they give me permission to accompany you to the fireworks display tonight over the lake. I have also been given permission to stay over at your house once you contact my fathers to make sure it is ok. Their home number is on the bottom of the permission slip." Rachel finished, handing the piece of paper to a surprised Mrs. Lopez.

"Welcome to the group Rachel, and I will call your fathers as soon as we arrive at the Lake. Ok girls, buckle up," Mrs. Lopez gave her daughter a look through the rearview mirror; a mixture of amusement and worry.

"Why didn't you tell me you were bringing someone else, Q?" Santana hissed into Quinn's ear.

"Because I know you don't like new people, but I like Rachel. She talks a lot and I don't understand a lot of it, but she's really nice and she showed up at my house yesterday morning after they moved in and she sang and it was really pretty," Quinn blushed turning to make sure no one else in the car could hear, although they all could.

"Santana sings really pretty also! Sometimes when we have sleepovers and I can't sleep, she sings to me and it makes me fall asleep," Brittany turned to smile at an increasingly red Santana.

"Santana, maybe one day this summer you and I can sing together. I practice my scales every morning, you are very welcome to join me," Rachel offered across Quinn, who was pretending not to notice Rachel's hand on her thigh while leaning over to talk to Santana.

"Uhh," Santana was about to say something mean but one look from Brittany changed her mind, "yeah ok maybe. I'm pretty busy this summer though." Everyone in the car seemed to accept that answer, causing Santana to breath a sigh of relief. She hated when Brittany got upset at her for being mean.

"Ok girls, here we are. Now some quick rules. See that green fence over there?" Mrs. Lopez pointed out the car window to the fence blocking off the lake.

"Yes." Four voices answered.

"You must stay behind it at all times. Don't get too close to it either. I am volunteering at the snack stand, just over there. We will all meet back up after the fireworks at the stand. Santana, I am putting you in charge of making sure everyone follows the rules, ok? Everyone, not just Brittany." Mrs. Lopez smiled.

"I know, Mama." Santana blushed again.

The four girls climbed out of the car, Santana and Brittany naturally gravitating towards each other, leaving Quinn and Rachel to do the same. They met up with their other friends, Puck's small mohawk that he had been growing out since Halloween was spray painted red, white, & blue. His friend Finn was there also, but no one liked him. He was mean and there was more than one occasion where Santana had to kick him when he called Brittany stupid. No one liked Finn. Puck even told Santana he didn't really like Finn either, but he was good to play catch with. Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina rounded out the group. Kurt's red, white, and blue sparkling vest caught the attention of Rachel.

"Hello, I am Rachel Barbara Berry. I enjoy your outfit very much." Rachel stuck her hand out to Kurt who took it with a big smile.

"Hi Rachel, thank you. Fashion can never start too young! In fact, I see that you like animals. Is that a horse on your shirt?" Kurt asked with no malice in his voice.

"Yes, it is. Thank you for noticing," Rachel thought maybe moving to Lima, Ohio wouldn't be so bad after all. Everyone seemed nice. She liked Kurt and Mercedes right away and she really liked Quinn, who had come up behind Rachel.

"Hi Rach, would you like an ice cream? My mother gave me some money for snacks." Quinn offered, pointing to the snack stand.

"My family does not eat dairy, but I would love a water," Rachel answered hoping not to upset Quinn.

"Oh, um ok. A water it is. I will be right back," Quinn skipped off.

It was getting dark; Santana knew this meant the fireworks would be starting soon. For as long as she can remember her Mama had taken her to see the fireworks on the 4th of July. It is one of her favorite days of the year. It's so loud, and hot, and bright, and big. It reminds Santana of everything she wants to be. She has been begging her mother to let Brittany come along for a few years now and finally this was the year. Santana was smiling, thinking about how happy Brittany was going to be at all the colors, when Brittany came up behind her.

"Hi San, this is so fun!" Brittany smiled, pulling Santana down onto the grass.

"I hope you like it Britt. I like your shirt by the way." Santana pointed at Brittany's stomach, a picture of a smiling yellow sun looking back at her.

"Thanks," Brittany smiled, leaning in to give Santana a kiss on the cheek. Santana's face all of a sudden got very hot, but she blamed it on the heat.

Finally the announcement was made that the fireworks would be starting soon. Brittany scooted closer to Santana, she didn't know what to expect and being near Santana always made her feel better. She looked over at Quinn and Rachel, thinking they must feel better being near each other also since they were sitting just as close as she was to Santana.

Once the music started Santana could feel the excitement coming off of Brittany. She put her hand over Brittany's hand, squeezing it.

The first small fireworks went off, mostly blue and red bursts of light. Brittany squeezed Santana's hand harder; Santana could feel her breathing hard. Santana gave a quick look at Brittany but there was no expression on her face. Santana kept staring, getting lost in the fireworks being reflected in Brittany's eyes. Santana was shaken from the site by a small tear coming out of one of Brittany's eyes.

"Britt, what's wrong? Santana asked getting worried. Brittany didn't respond so Santana leaned in closer, whispering in Brittany's ear. "Britt, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Brittany turned her head towards Santana, their noses practically touching. "I'm scared," she said in the smallest voice Santana had ever heard. Santana didn't notice the fireworks anymore; her only thought at the moment was protecting Brittany.

"Why are you scared? The fireworks are very far away, its just lights." Santana tried to comfort Brittany, putting her around the now shaking shoulders.

"It's so loud, San," Brittany pulled her hands over her ears, leaning even further into Santana.  
Santana didn't know what to do, they were out in the open there was nowhere to go to escape the noise. She looked around, the snack shack catching her eye. "Come on, Britt. Come with me." She pulled Brittany up off the ground, motioning to Quinn that they were going to the shack. She pulled open the back door, practically pushing Brittany inside. The noise wasn't much softer in there, but it was covered and slightly muffled. Brittany sat on a small stool, while Santana went to the front to get her mom.

"Mama, the fireworks are scaring Brittany. They are too loud, I don't know what to do," Santana was visibly shaken. Mrs. Lopez rubbed her daughter's back, taking a bottle of water from the front and walked back towards Brittany.

Brittany was curled up on the stool, still holding her ears. Mrs. Lopez handed Brittany the water, giving Santana a sympathetic look.

"I'm gonna go tell the fireworks guy to stop! I'm gonna go all Lima Heights on him for making Britt upset" Santana puffed up her chest, heading towards the door.

"You will do no such thing young lady, get back here. He is beyond the fence and the number one rule tonight is do not go near the fence," Mrs. Lopez gave her daughter a stern look, causing the small girl to deflate.

"But Ma, he has to stop. It's scaring her," Santana pleaded. "Maybe I can get him to make one that looks like a cat!" Santana perked back up.

"Girls, why don't you wait out the fireworks in the car? I can see it from here, so I can check on you in a little bit." Mrs. Lopez offered. "It'll be quieter in there and you can put the air on to cool off." Mrs. Lopez said handing Santana the key.

Santana secretly liked the idea of being alone in the car with Brittany. She always liked being alone with Brittany. "Yeah ok, that's a great idea. Come on Britt." Santana pulled a slightly relieved Brittany off the stool, back out the door.

They crawled into the back seat, Santana not worrying about Brittany getting sick since the car wouldn't be moving. Santana found a blanket in the trunk, covering them both up to their noses. "Are you feeling better Britt?," Santana asked cautiously.

"I am. I'm sorry I ruined your fireworks," Brittany started crying again, cuddling into Santana.

'No, Britt. You don't ruin anything. I'm so sorry I didn't think that the noise might scare you. I should have asked you and told you what would happen. I'm sorry." Santana wiped Brittany's cheeks.

"Britt, the fireworks will be over soon and we can go back to my place and sleep. Are you ok just staying in the car for now? I can put on the radio," Santana offered, getting up to lean over the middle console.

"I like being in here with you, San. It's quiet and it's just us. Like when we hide under your blankets when I sleep over." Brittany pulled Santana back down. "Thank you for protecting me from the fireworks tonight. Maybe I can try again next year," Brittany offered trying to ease her still nagging guilt.

"Whatever you want Britt, maybe we can make our own 4th of July traditions. Maybe we will go camping in the car instead of watching fireworks," Santana giggled, feeling suddenly courageous, leaned over and placed a quick kiss to the corner of Brittany's smiling mouth. She quickly pushed herself back, not daring to look at Brittany.

"San?" Brittany asked, following Santana who was now plastered against the door. "San, can I kiss you?"

Santana looked up into Brittany's eyes. She could still make out the reflection of some of the fireworks going on in the night sky behind them. "Yeah, ok." Santana said in a whisper, her mouth dry at the thought.

Brittany leaned in, eyes locked with Santana's. "I'm gonna kiss you now, ok?" Brittany asked, her whole body hovering over Santana's. She could feel Santana's breath on her face, the fear and excitement in her eyes. Brittany leaned in just far enough to brush Santana's lips with her own. She heard a sharp intake of breath coming from Santana just before feeling Santana's hands grip Brittany's waist, helping to hold her up.

Santana looked at Brittany, she nodded her head slightly, signaling Brittany to come closer. Brittany leaned in again, this time her lips firmly pressing against Santana's. Santana pushed against Brittany, wrapping her arms tighter around Brittany's waist. Santana could swear she felt Brittany melting into her, in fact she was pretty sure she couldn't feel any other part of her body either. This is what it felt like to kiss someone? Why haven't they done this before? Does it feel like this to kiss anyone? Santana thought, no she figured. This is how it feels to kiss Brittany.

Santana was sure they had been kissing for days, when Brittany leaned back, a silly smile on her face, Santana was sure a similar one was being reflected on her own face.

"I liked those fireworks a lot better than the ones outside, San." Brittany whispered, chuckling at her joke.

"Me too, Britt. I like our new 4th of July tradition a lot better than watching fireworks."


End file.
